4 weeks

Anxious day, my friend is having surgery today and I hope it goes well and she has an uneventful recovery. I have been talking with Dr Thomas Turay, the man who got me started on this idea of travel to Sierra Leone. He asked me my goals in travelling to Sierra Leone and how cdpeace could help with the trip. I thought I would share my response as many of you have also wondered why and why now?


I will try to articulate my reasons clearly although they feel like a work in progress. I suspect that question may be easier to answer when I return but here is my attempt to answer it now:

I believe everyone deserves to live a life of dignity and respect, I believe children are deserving of the best we can offer for they are our future. When I heard you speak at Parkview Public School in 2007, I wanted to honor your request to 'not forget Sierra Leone'. The best way I can show what that means to me is to visit and share what I can of myself: my knowledge, skills, and resources. I want to nurture the relationship between our communities, I want the children of Parkview to see 'Me to We' in action, help them to know that the world is a small place, we are all in this together and need to look out for and help one another. This is a time when Canada can help Sierra Leone; there may come a time when fortunes are reversed and we need aid, God willing someone will be there for us. I want the children of Sierra Leone to know that they matter, they deserve peace, health, and education, and that half way around the world, we talk about them and wonder about them and hope they are well.

I plan on sharing my trip with the students of Parkview Public School and Childrens Hospital through a slideshow: to help them see life in Sierra Leone as I saw it while I was travelling, life in the villages, pictures of daily activities, help them to see the beauty and possibilities as well as the reality of day to day life there. I want to bring Mathumbo and Sierra Leone back to Parkview, make it alive for them as much as I can through stories and pictures.

So that is my best attempt at articulating where I am at today with 'Why Sierra Leone?'


I have been in touch with a rep at novopharm, a generic pharmaceutical company. They have a compassionate care programme that sends medication with physicians travelling to areas of need. I am hopeful, although the lead time is short, to get some antibiotics to take with me. Thomas emphasized the lack of supplies in rural health centres and that anything we can bring would be put to good use. Since antibiotics are not readily available in west Africa, inexpensive antibiotics like amoxicillin and sulfa can be used to treat meningitis and sepsis there. Crazy world.

So time spirals forward like a whirlwind carrying me along towards the flight and Sierra Leone.

Sorry

OK sorry I sent my last blog. I realized I needed to be more circumspect in what I posted and edited it but not until after it was sent. Sorry to all of you who read it and were upset. I need to keep those fears in check- I could get hit crossing the road here in Komoka too. Life has to be lived. So no more negative posts, my goal isn't to scare people but to share this adventure.

5 weeks

It is 5 weeks until I leave for Sierra Leone. I have been shopping for me this week and got a lightweight sleeping bag to use at the nature parks and guest houses if needed. I also picked up a pair of Tilley dress pants as it seems we will be welcomed formally by some villages and in meetings to learn about their health care realities which translates into looking decent for a few days. I have been in email communication with Dr Thomas Turay and look forward to speaking with him before I go. He has some ideas for travel during our time there and I am excited to speak with him.

I have also been struggling with a few realities- one: missing my kids. I have never been away from them for this long before. They remind me this is my choice to go and keep my emotions on the practical level. Two: meeting people there, I don't want to let them down, I want to respect their gift of time and stories, I hope I can be there in the way they need me. I also decided to take my stethoscope, never know: it may be useful.

Enough heaviness. I want to mention 3 cups of tea- if you haven't read this book you need to. The author Greg Mortenson is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his work building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, before and after 9/11. I couldn't put it down and it has changed my perception of this part of the world. It also reinforces the importance of the work of Peaceful Schools International and cdPeace in Sierra Leone.

trip preparations

Sierra Leone is roughly 6 weeks away- Oct 19th I depart from Toronto Ontario and will reach Lungi Airport, Sierra Leone on the 20th at 10ish pm. I hate travelling and 24 hours of it is daunting but once I am there it will be worth it. A few butterflies at this point as we have no set itinerary after the first week. The first week I hope will be spent with Clare Levin who is in Sierra Leone on behalf of Carolyn Van Gurp from Peaceful Schools International. I will be travelling with Clare and handing out first aid kits to the local schools, scissors to the Natural Birth Attendants, and medical books to the library at Mapaki. I am also hoping to meet with Dr. Thomas Turay who, with his wife, runs an organization called cdpeace in Sierra Leone. This whole trip started after I heard Dr Turay speak at Parkview Public School in 2008. His impassioned plea for us 'not to forget Sierra Leone' moved me to travel across the world to tell him that his message was heard and we will not forget.

Check out cdpeace.com for more information about their work. Another favorite Salone site I have found is welbodi.org. This site looks at health care and specifically refers to the Childrens Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Finally for a picture of Sierra Leone as it is today visit visitsierraleone.org